. Current Affairs week 49Pdf.

30 Nov 6 Dec 2015

Best of Current Affairs Desk

7th December

Dear Readers,

IN THIS WEEK

WHAT'S NEW

NIRDESHAK.COM

Montenegro
Rajali naval air station
Chennai The Hindu
GIAN
Tata Motors
COP21

Nirdeshak.com has initiated all new Current

Affairs (BNCA) with weekly pdf update. In todays
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Barack 8

In the week, many place, events and policy

remained important as India and world saw
many developments. Further know more about
key personalities of the week, banking news,
government policies and foreign relations with
neighbours.

P V Sindhu

Happy learning,

Patricia Scotland
Inactivated Polio Vaccine
(IPV)

Davis Cup 2015

Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Warm regards

Editorial Team
Nirdeshak.com

Place
Montenegro
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
invited which Balkan-group country to join it on 2
December 2015, a development which was highly
criticized by Russia?
To Know: The small country of Montenegro came
to limelight on 2 December as Foreign Minister
Igor Luksic strode into the conference hall of
NATO at its headquarters in Brussels to loud
applause from his peers. Montenegro was thus officially invited to join NATO,
which will be its first expansion since 2009.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the decision to invite Montenegro
was not directed at Russia. Russia opposes any NATO extension to
former communist areas of eastern and southeastern Europe as it is part
of an east-west struggle for influence over former Soviet satellites that is at
the centre of the crisis in Ukraine.

NATO foreign ministers broke off practical cooperation with Russia in April
last year after Moscow annexed Ukraines Crimea peninsula and sparked
the conflict in eastern Ukraine that has killed more than 8,000 people.

The last expansion of NATO was done in 2009 when Albania and Croatia
were inducted into the organisation to take its membership to 28. NATO is
the most prominent intergovernmental military organisation that was
formed in 1949. It is led by the US and has member countries across
North America and Europe.

Rajali naval air station (Arakkonam)

Naval air base situated near Chennai came to limelight
on 3 December 2015 after it was chosen as the base
to operate limited number of commercial flights to help
stranded passengers.
To Know: The Rajali naval air station in Arakkonam is
around 60 km from Chennai. It was chosen as the
base for operating limited number of commercial flights
after successful test-landing of an Airbus A320 with passengers on 2
December. From 4 December Arakkonam naval base is operating six flights

each over the next two days. Shuttle train services have been made available
Chennai airport at every 15 minutes interval.

Rajali naval air station (officially known as INS Rajali) is an Indian naval air
station located at Arakkonam, some 60 kms away from Chennai. It
operates under the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy, and has
the longest military runway in Asia.

The Chennai airport has been shut till 6 December due to flooding.

Gurgoan
First-of-its-kind on-demand two-wheeler taxi service was
launched in which city from 1 November 2015?
To Know: The on-demand two-wheeler taxi service in
Gurgaon was launched by M-taxi, a two-wheeler taxi service
provider, which had acquired permit for the service from the
Haryana government to start its operations.
Thus Gurgaon became the first city in India which
has a legalised taxi system. Bike taxis are better equipped to deal with
congestion, traffic, and last mile connectivity, which are the three major
problems that Indian cities are struggling to cope with. This type of service
already exists in countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and China
M-Taxis pricing starts at Rs. 25 for the first three kilometres, and Rs. 5 for
every subsequent kilometre. Another two-wheeler taxi service, Baxi, has
also got permission from the Haryana government to start its operations.

IFFI 2015
Embrace of Serpent
Which film won the prestigious Golden Peacock award in the
46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI 2015), that
concluded on 30 November 2015 at Goa?
To Know: Colombian film Embrace of Serpent (Al Abrazo de
la Serpiente) was declared the best film of IFFI 2015. It was
awarded the prestigious Golden Peacock award which carries a sum of Rs.
40 lakh besides the citation.

The best director award went to Peter Greenaway for Eisenstein. French
actor Vincent Lindon was adjudged Best Actor for his role in The Measure
of a Man.

Best Actress award was shared by five actresses GunesSensoy,

DogaDoguslu, TugbaSunguroglu, ElitIscan and IlyadaAkdogan for their roles
in Turkish film Mustang.

Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov was given the Lifetime Achievement

Award. Director GoranRadovavovics Enclave was conferred the Special
Mention Award for focusing on ethnic conflict in Kosovo and Julia Vargas
directed film Sealed Cargo was awarded the Special Jury Award.

The only Indian name in the winners list was that of Bengali filmmaker
KaushikGanguly, who was given the inaugural ICFT UNESCO Fellini
Medal for his movie Cinemawala.

IFFI 2015 was held from 20 to 30 November 2015 at Goa, which is the
permanent venue for this event.

Malta
The 2-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting for
2015 (CHOGM 2015) concluded on 29 November 2015. This
24th edition of the biennial meet of the 53 Commonwealth
countries was held in which country?
To Know: CHOGM was held at the small and picturesque
Mediterranean country of Malta from 27 to 29 November 2015.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II declared proceedings officially open on 27
November.
The summit which was originally designated to be hosted by Mauritius,
was given instead to Malta when the Mauritian Prime Minister
NavinRamgoolam refused to attend the CHOGM 2013 over the human
rights situation prevailing in the host country, Sri Lanka. He thus withdrew
as the host of the 2015 summit as protocol had required him to attend the
summit in order to personally invite other member states.
CHOGM 2015 held a special session on climate change and global
sustainability as it was held just before the United Nations Climate Change
Conference in Paris. The issue of international terrorism and the European
migrant crisis was also discussed in the meet.
External Affairs minister SushmaSwaraj represented India in the meeting
instead of Prime Minister NarendraModi.

London will host the next edition of CHOGM in 2018, as the next summit
originally scheduled for 2017 in Vanuatu, was cancelled. It was cancelled as
Vanuatu rescinded its offer to host due to the long-term effects of devastation
to the island nations infrastructure caused by Cyclone Pam in March 2015.

Bangkok (Thailand)
In an important development in India-Pakistan
relations, the National Security Advisor-level talks
between the two countries wereheld on 6 December
2015.
To Know: Indian National Security Advisor
AjitDoval and his Pakistani counterpart NasirJanjua
held a four hour meeting in Bangkok on 6 December. The decision to hold the
talks came after Prime Minister NarendraModi met his Pakistani counterpart
Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Summit in Paris on
30 November 2015.
Discussions covered peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir,
and others including tranquility over the Line of Control, as was disclosed
by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
NSA-level talks were scheduled earlier this year when the two Prime
Ministers had met for a bilateral summit in Russias Ufa on the sidelines of
a convention. But the meeting fell through at the last minute over a
proposed meeting between Pakistans then National Security Advisor
Sartaj Aziz and the Kashmiri separatists.

Chennai The Hindu

One of Indias oldest existing daily newspapers, was not
published from its headquarters Chennai for the first time since
1878 on 2 December 2015.
Explanation: The 2 December 2015 edition of The Hindu was not available
for Chennaiyans as its workers could not access the dailys press situated at
Maraimalainagartownship on the outskirts of Chennai city.
Hence, it was just the first day in reputed dailys 137-year long history that
it was not published. However the edition of 3 December 2015 was made
available as was done regularly.
Chennai is passing through the worst rains in last 137 years. The army
has been deployed to rescue thousands of stranded people after days of
heavy rains. Flights from the citys airport have been indefinitely
suspended after flood waters entered the runway and tarmac areas on 2
December. Over 300 persons have been killed in the floods in the state.

Colombia
Which South American country on 5 December
2015 claimed to have found the shipwreck of a
storied Spanish galleon laden with gold and
precious stones, which is said to be the most
valuable treasure that has been found in the history
of humanity?
To Know: Colombian President Juan Manuel
Santos made this announcement from the northern port city of Cartagena,
close to where experts made the hugely valuable find.
The Spanish ship San Jose was sunk in June 1708 near the Islas del
Rosario, off Colombias Caribbean coast, during combat with British ships
attempting to take its cargo, part of the War of Spanish Succession. It was
the main ship in a treasure fleet carrying gold, silver and other valuable
items from Spains American colonies to King Philip V. Only a handful of
the ships crew of 600 survived when the San Jose sank.
This ship was found on 27 November 2015 by a team of Colombian and
foreign researchers, including a veteran of the group that discovered the
wreck of the Titanic in 1985. The discovery of this ship ended over 300year old mystery surrounding the ship.

Vyachakurahalli
Indias first smokeless village in Karnataka.
Explanation: Vyachakurahalli
village
(in
Gauribidanurtaluk of Chikkaballapur district) in Karnataka
came to limelight as it was officially declared as Indias
first smokeless village. This village is around 77 km from
Karnataka capital Bengaluru. This came to reality as all the households in the
village gained access to LPG connections. Altogether 274 households in the
village have this facility.
This became possible as Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) piloted the Mission
Smokeless village project. For over four decades, firewood had been the
only fuel for the most of the villages women. Hence cooking was an ordeal
for womenfolk with bouts of cough caused by the soot-filled air in the
blackened kitchens.
Now, the kitchens have got swanky steel gas stoves and red cylinders. On
4 December 2015 the Union petroleum ministry officially declared
Vyachakurahalli as Indias first smokeless village, owing to its conversion
from conventional fuel to LPG.

Education
GIAN
What is the primary objective of Global Initiative of
Academic Networks (GIAN) that was launched on 1
November 2015 by the HRD Ministry? To improve
the quality of higher education through
international collaboration
Explanation: Global Initiative of Academic Networks
(GIAN) aims at bringing high quality academicians to participate in delivering
courses in Indian institutions. It is an initiative of the Human Resource
Development (HRD) Ministry that was flagged-off at IIT Kharagpur by Union
HRD Ministry SmritiIrani.
Under GIAN, international academicians of international repute will impart
short-term high-end courses in various knowledge fields. These courses
will be undertaken in Indian institutes and will not be limited to IITs and
other such national institutes.
IIT Kharagpur has been made the nodal institution of GIAN initiative and
the inaugural courses have also been made available in the institute.
These courses will have a credit-based approach.
The inaugural course on Orthopaedic Biomechanics: Implants and
Biomaterials will be undertaken by professor NicoVerdonschot from
Netherlands who is a leading international figure in the field of computer
modelling of orthopedic bio -mechanics.

Corporate
Tata Motors
To Know: Zica is the name of Tata Motors entry-level
hatchback that was unveiled in Goa by the company on 2
December. This car is likely to make its debut before the
Auto Expo 2016 kicks in.
This cars engine features two driving modes (City and Eco). Its the first
car from the Tata Motors portfolio to feature variable valve timing.
Tata Motors is expected to price Zica at a very competitive price. It is the
newest car in Tata stable after Bolt and Zest.

State
Maharashtra
The state emerged as the biggest economy within Indian states as disclosed
in a latest report released during December 2015 by credit rating agency
Brickwork Ratings.
To Know: Brickworks fourth edition of a nationwide multi-state research to
analyze finances of all the Indian states was released on 1 December 2015.
This report rated Maharashtra as the biggest economy within India at Rs.
16.87 lakh crore in terms of gross state domestic product (GSDP). It is
followed by Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

The report mentioned the fact that Maharashtra earns approximately 70%
of its total receipts through tax revenues, which is the highest among the
bigger states. In this aspect it is followed by Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
The manufacturing sector in Gujarat and Maharashtra accounted for
27.26% and 25.18% of GSDP respectively in 2014-15. Other states with
higher manufacturing sector share were Tamil Nadu (19.1%), Jharkhand
(18.8%) and Haryana (18.1%).
Karnataka leads in the growth of services sector, largely due to the growth
in the IT/BPO/ KPO sector, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and
Andhra Pradesh.
The three fastest-growing states were Bihar at 17.06 per cent, MP
(16.86%) and Goa (16.43%). The laggards were Telangana at 5.3%,
Punjab (10.16%), Rajasthan (11%).
Meanwhile, at a national level, Indias GDP growth rate at 7.3% in 2015
exceeded that of China, which grew at 6.9%.

Banking
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC)
Tata Group on 2 December 2015 announced signing up an alliance with a
Chinese bank to provide it with a host of banking services.
To Know: Under the alliance, ICBC will provide the Tata group with financing
products, global cash management, consulting, international trade finance
business, investment banking, foreign exchange, derivatives trading, and
other global financial services. The services will be provided to Tata Group in
locations including India, China, the United States and Europe.

ICBC is a state-owned Chinese multinational banking company. It is the

largest bank in the world by total assets and by market capitalization.

Banks transmitted only 0.60% of 1.25% repo rate cut benefits to borrowers
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its 5 th bi-monthly policy review
on 1 December 2015 in which it chose to keep the all-important Repo Rate
unchanged at 6.75%.
To Know: It is worth mentioning that the RBI has slashed the repo rate
cumulatively by 125 basis points since the beginning of calendar year
2015. But it disclosed that the banks transmitted just 60 points of the 125
point benefit to its borrowers.

However, the series of rate cuts by

had the desired impact, with GDP
quarter (July-September) against
apparently allowed RBI to take a
unchanged.

the RBI since January seem to have

growth rising to 7.4% in the second
7% in the previous quarter. This
breather and keep the Repo Rate

Environment
International Agency for Solar Technologies and Applications (IASTA)
In an important development in the field of global solar energy scenario, India
launched an international solar alliance at the ongoing UN Climate Summit
(COP21) at Paris on 30 November 2015.
To Know: The International Agency for Solar Technologies and Applications
(IASTA) was launched by Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi along with the
French president, Franois Hollande, at the Paris COP21 climate summit.
This alliance comprises of over 120 countries with the primary aim to spread
cheap solar technology across the globe with pooled policy knowledge.
The idea behind the establishment of IASTA is that larger markets and
bigger volumes will lead to lower costs, making it possible to spur demand.
IASTA will have its headquarters in India. The Indian government is
investing an initial $30m in setting up its headquarters in India. The
eventual goal is to raise $400m from membership fees, and international
agencies.
Companies involved in the project include Areva, Engie, Enel, HSBC
France and Tata Steel.
It is worth mentioning that India has emerged as the natural leader for this
alliance, with its ambitious targets to install 175GW of renewable energy
by 2022.

COP21
The United Nations (UN) Climate Change
Conference or the 21st United Nations
Conference of the Parties (COP21) started at
Paris on 30 November 2015. This ambitious
and historic conference aims to unite around
150 nations for a single agreement on tackling climate change. What is one of
the most important proposed targets for this conference? To cap the rate of
global warming at 2 degrees Celsius
Explanation: COP21 aims to cap the rate of global warming at 2 degrees
Celsius, as compared to the current 2.5 to 3.76 degrees Celsius. This will be
done by, among other things, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and shifting
towards cleaner energies such as wind or solar power.

However, scientists say even a 2 degrees Celsius rise in global

temperature will mean faster melting of glaciers and polar ice caps and a
corresponding rise in sea level that will gobble up land.
Last year, the global carbon emissions were the highest ever. China is
considered the biggest polluter, followed by the US, the European Union,
India, Russia and Japan.

Mission Innovation
21 countries pledged $20 billion to promote clean
technologies. During COP21, the UN Climate Change
Conference in Paris, 21 countries including India launched
an ambitious initiative to double their clean energy
research and development budget over the next five years
as part of global efforts to tackle climate change.
To Know: Under Mission Innovation each participating country will seek to
double its governmental and/or state-directed clean energy research and
development investment over five years.
The countries participating in the new initiative include: Australia, Brazil,
Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy,
Japan, Mexico, Norway, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, the
United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland), the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), and the United States of America (USA).
In addition to 21 countries that launched the initiative, other countries will
be encouraged to join in the future.
The formal announcement of Mission Innovation was made during
COP21 at a meeting attended by US President Barack Obama, Prime
Minister NarendraModi and French President Francois Hollande along with
other leaders. (Photo Courtesy: Mission-Innovation.net)

International
Chinas Yuan into its benchmark currency basket
In a victory for Beijings campaign for recognition as a
global economic power, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) admitted Chinas Yuan into its benchmark
currency basket on 30 November 2015. With this Yuan
will be added to the Special Drawing Rights (SDR)
basket alongside the dollar, euro, pound sterling and
yen. When Yuan will be officially added to the SDR basket to get reserve
currency status? October 2016
Explanation: The Yuan (also known as the Renminbi) will have a 10.92%
share in the SDR basket and will officially be included in it from October 2016.
This development is being seen as an important milestone in Chinas
integration into global finances and a nod to the progress it has made with
reforms.
To meet the IMFs criteria, Beijing has undertaken a flurry of reforms in
recent months, including better access for foreigners to Chinese currency
markets, more frequent debt issuance and expanded Yuan trading hours.
To be included in the SDR basket, the Yuan had to meet the criteria to be
freely usable, or widely used to make international payments and widely
traded in foreign exchange markets, a yardstick it missed at the last review
in 2010.

Patricia Scotland
The first-ever female Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
was elected on 27 November 2015 during CHOGM 2015.
To Know: Dominica-born lawyer Patricia Scotland, who is a
former attorney general to the British government, was elected
as the new Secretary-General of the Commonwealth on 27
November during its biennial summit in Malta.
She thus became the first-ever woman to be elected for running the 53country organisation. She will thus replace Indian diplomat Kamalesh
Sharma on 1 April 2016, who will complete his second term then.
While Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth, the SecretaryGenerals duties involve representing the organisation globally and

promoting its values and principles, chiefly democratic standards and

development.
Previous Commonwealth Secretaries-General have been Arnold Smith of
Canada (1965-1975), ShridathRamphal of Guyana (1975-1990), Chief
EmekaAnyaoku of Nigeria (1990-2000) and Don McKinnon of New
Zealand (2000-2008).

Medicine
Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV)
To Know: The Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV), in injectable
form, was launched under the National Immunization Programme
(NIP) on 30 November 2015. The launch of IPV marks a shift in
addressing vaccine derived poliovirus cases. IPV, which uses
killed polio viruses, will be used alongside the oral polio vaccine
(OPV). With its launch India is trying to push for the so-called
endgame polio mission.
The IPV uses killed polio viruses and when used in combination with OPV
can quickly boost immunity against poliovirus and offer double protection.
Till date, India, like many other countries, has been relying on an OPV
campaign-style programme several times a year to keep the naturallyoccurring wild polioviruses at bay.
For now, immunization using IPV will be restricted to Bihar, Chhattisgarh,
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. In the first
quarter of 2016, it will be expanded to the other Northern and Northeastern States and in the second quarter, will encompass the five southern
States and Maharashtra.
It is worth mentioning that no new cases of polio have been reported in
India for around 5 years now.

Defence
Barack 8
In an important event associated with Indias defence forces, the Long Range
Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM), jointly designed and developed by Israels IAI
and Indias DRDO, was successfully flight tested from an Israeli naval
platform on 27 November 2015.
To Know: LRSAM (or Barack 8, as it is called in Israel) is an advanced, longrange missile defence and air defence system. Its main features are long
range, active radar seeker missile, vertical launch and multiple simultaneous
engagements.
The air defence system has been jointly developed by Indias Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel Aerospace
Industries (IAI) of Israel. The system was successfully tested from an
Israeli Naval Platform, wherein the missile successfully engaged and
destroyed the incoming air target.
Further Operational Flight Trials (O.F.T) will be conducted shortly from
Indian Naval Platform before induction into the service. It will be inducted
into Indian Naval Ships (P-15A).

Economy
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate
7.4%was the GDP growth rate of the Indian economy during the second
quarter (July-September) of 2015-16.
Explanation: Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for the
three-month period ended 30 September 2015 stood at 7.4% as compared
with 7% in the previous quarter (April-June 2015) and 8.4% in the same
quarter last year. Growth is thus tracking as per RBIs trajectory of between 77.5% for the full year.
Manufacturing growth during the quarter was 9.3%, against 7.2% in the
previous quarter. The agricultural sector grew 2.2%, against 1.9%.
With these figures being disclosed, there is likely to be a downward
revision in official GDP growth estimates for the full financial year 2015-16.

Sports
P V Sindhu - completed a hat-trick of titles at the Macau Open
Explanation: Two-time defending champion P V Sindhu won her
third consecutive Macau Open title after defeating sixth seeded
MinatsuMitani by 21-9, 21-23, 21-14 in the finals on 29 November.

She had earlier advanced to finals of the event with a gruelling three-game
triumph over second seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the semifinals,
which she won 21-8, 15-21, 21-16.

Hockey
Which team won the FIH Hockey World League title for 2015 on 6
December 2015? Australia
Explanation: World champions Australia defeated Belgium by 2-1 to
win the prestigious FIH Hockey World League title 2015 on 6
December 2015. With this win they stamped their authority in mens
hockey.
Australia, who finished fourth in the last edition of the tournament two
years back, showed why they are considered as the most consistent team
in world hockey. Australian team took control of the match from the word
go to dominate the world number seven Belgians.
-Belgium had defeated hosts Indian in the semi-finals to reach the finals
while Australia pipped the Netherlands.
The tournament was played from 28 November to 6 December 2015 at the
SardarVallabhBhai Patel Stadium in Raipur (Chhattishgarh).

India won bronze

Indian mens hockey team created history by winning the bronze medal at the
FIH Hockey World League Final on 6 December 2015 as they claimed their
first medal at a major FIH event after 33 years. Which team they defeated in
the play-off match? Netherlands
To Know: India avenged their 3-1 defeat to Netherlands in pool games to
come out victorious in the third-place playoff in the FIH Hockey World League
Finals played at Raipur. India came back from a 2-0 deficit to stun the world
No.2.

 The match was tied at 5-5 at the end of regular time (60 minutes) and the
match was decided by penalty shoot-out. India defeated the Netherlands
3-2 in the penalties to win a historic bronze medal. Indian goalkeeper
Sreejesh played important role in this win making three brilliant saves.
Davis Cup 2015
Great Britainbecame title holders of this prestigious tennis
team title after a gap of 79 years.
To Know: Andy Murray led Great Britain to its first Davis
Cup title since 1936 after defeating hosts Belgium by 3-1 in
the finals played at Ghent. In the first reverse-singles on 29
November, Murray defeated Belgiums David Goffin by 6-3,
7-5, 6-3 to give his country a great tennis gift. Earlier Andy had partnered his
elder brother Jamie Murray to victory in the doubles on 28 November.
Belgium had hosted Britain in the final from 27 to 29 November 2015 in a
repeat of their 1904 final when the Britons won 5-0 at Wimbledon. Belgium
had reached its first Davis Cup final since 1904 when in September 2015
they had defeated Argentina by 3-2. On the other hand Britain had
defeated arch-rivals Australia 3-2 in the semis.
Davis Cup is the most prestigious mens team tennis championship and is
often called the World Cup of tennis. It is run by the International Tennis
Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing
countries in a knock-out format.

Badminton
Indias KidambiSrikanth lost in the mens singles final of Yonex Indonesian
Masters BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament on 6 December 2015. Who won
the final against him? Tommy Sugiarto (Indonesia)
Explanation: Second-seeded Tommy Sugiarto won the mens singles final of
Indonesian Masters BWF Grand Prix Gold as he defeated top seeded
KidambiSrikanth (India) by 17-21, 21-13, 24- 22 in a tense final at Maland
(Indonesia) on 6 December 2015.
Sugiarto thus won the gold medal while KidambiSrikanth had to contend
with the silver.
The 2015 Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold was the 20th Grand Prix
tournament of the 2015 BWF Grand Prix circuit.

Formula One F(1)

Lotus
The French car giant Renault will return to Formula 1 of 2016 session as
a constructor, It will replace Lotus F1 team.
Explanation: Renault sold the team to investment group Genii Capital at the
end of 2009 after deciding to quit as a constructor but remained involved as
an engine builder. The company will now make a comeback in 2016 session
as a constructor.
Renault has won four world drivers titles, two as Benetton with Michael
Schumacher in 1994 and 1995, and two as Renault with Fernando Alonso
in 2005 and 2006.
Formula One F(1)
Mercedes Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain) officially won the
Formula One (F1)
To Know: Lewis Hamiltons teammate NicoRosberg won
the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with Hamilton
finishing second. Rosberg thus ended his 2015 season in
triumph when he completed a hat-trick of victories in the Abu Dhabi Grand
Prix ahead of world champion Lewis Hamilton. This was Rosbergs sixth title
win of the year.
But Hamilton still secured his third drivers title as he had taken an
unassailable lead at last months United States Grand Prix. Hamilton won
10 titles during the year. Ferraris Sebastian Vettel (Germany) finished at
third spot.

Tyson Fury
Tyson Fury created boxing history by ending Ukrainian boxer
WladimirKlitschkos 11-year reign as the world heavyweight
champion on 28 November 2015.
To Know: British boxer Tyson Fury created a huge upset when
he defeated legendary Ukrainian boxer WladimirKlitschkos 11year reign as the world heavyweight champion after winning the
title fight on 28 November. This bout was held in Dusseldorf (Germany) and
Fury won it on points.

 Fury was awarded the fight 115-112, 115-112 and 116-111 by the three
judges to take Klitschkos WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO belts.
WladimirKlitschko is the second longest reigning heavyweight champion of
all time and has the second most successful title defenses for any
heavyweight boxer with total 23 title defenses in his illustrious career.

Insurance
Sun Life
Insurance major Sun Life will increase its stake in Birla Sun Life Insurance
(BSLI) to 49% from 26% as announced by Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL) on 3
December 2015. Sun Life is a leading insurance service provider of which
country? Canada
Explanation: BSLI is one of the leading private life insurance players in India,
with the new business premium market share of 7.9% for the half year ended
30 September 2015.
With this stake sale Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL), the majority stakeholder in the company will have the remaining 51% stake in the enterprise.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of financial year 2015-16,
subject to the customary closing conditions and the requisite statutory and
regulatory approvals in India and Canada.
The 23% stake sale will fetch ABNL Rs. 1,664 crore, valuing BSLI at Rs.
7,235 crore.

Person
Justice Tirath Singh Thakur
43rdChief Justice of India
To Know: Justice Tirath Singh Thakur (Justice T.S. Thakur)
was administered the oath as the 43rd Chief Justice of India by
the President on 3 December 2015 at a function held at the
RashtrapatiBhawan. He took over from incumbent Justice H.L.
Dattu who retired a day earlier on 2 December.
He was the senior-most judge in the Supreme Court till his elevation as the
CJI and had headed the bench which had delivered the verdict to reform
cricket controlling body BCCI in the wake of allegations of betting and
spot-fixing scandal in the IPL.
He will have the tenure as CJI for a little over one year and would retire on
4 January 2017.
Vijay Kumar Choudhary
Unanimously elected Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly on 2
December 2015.
Explanation: Vijay Kumar Choudhary is a senior leader of the JD (U)
and has been a close associate of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. He thus
became the 16th Speaker and 14th person to hold the position of the Speaker
of Bihar Assembly.
Choudhary represents the Sarairanjan assembly segment in Samastipur.

MAM Ramaswamy
Veteran industrialist and former parliamentarian MAM Ramaswamy,
who passed away on 2 December 2015, was associated with which
industrial house? Chettinad Group
To Know: Apart from being a noted industrialist and former
parliamentarian, 84-year old MAM Ramaswamy was also the last
King of Chettinad in Tamil Nadu. He was heading the Chettinad
Group as its Chairman till his death. The group has diverse interests in
cement, granite and engineering among others. He represented Karnataka in
the RajyaSabha from 2004 to 2010.

He belonged to the NattukottaiChettiar community, also known as The

Rajah Family in the Tamil fraternity. He had very important role in
transforming the Annamalai University (in Chidambaram), that was
founded by his family in 1929.
He was of the most famous professional horse-racer in India and had the
record of over 600 Classics in his name. He also had interests in sports
administration. He was the president of the Indian Hockey Federation and
it was during his stewardship in 1975, India won its World Cup hockey
championship.
MAM Ramaswamy, however, had bitter relations with his adopted son
MAMR Muthiah. In 2014 Ramaswamy was eased out from the board of
Chettinad Cement by Muthiah-led group.

Manoj Bhargava
The Indian-American billionaire philanthropist who
unveiled a path-breaking new invention in the form of a
stationary cycle that can generate free electricity.
To Know: Manoj Bhargava is an India-born billionaire
philanthropist who shot to fame with his 5-Hour Energy
drink. He has reportedly net worth of around $4 billion.
On 28 November 2015 he unveiled his new invention
a stationary cycle that is capable of generating electricity through pedalling.
The stationary cycle that was launched by Manoj Bhargava generates
power by pedalling. The pedalling turns a flywheel, which spins a
generator that charges the attached battery. One hour of pedalling can
meet a rural households electricity needs for 24 hours, including running
lights, a small fan and charging a cell phone, all without electricity bills, fuel
costs or pollution. The price of one such cycle is expected between
Rs. 12,000-15,000 and will be available by March 2016.
Bhargava intends to first start selling the product in Uttarakhand and later
target rest of the domestic market. Production of this path-breaking cycle
will also be done in India.